Hat-machine.



No. 734,642. PATENTED JULY 28, 1903.

4 A. A. WHITNEY.

HAT MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 17, 1902. no MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. PATENTED JULY 28, 190 3. A. A. WHITNEY.

HAT MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 17, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

Tu: mmms ruins co. sumo-mus. wxsnmauw.

UNITED STATES.

Patented July 28, 1903.

P TENT OFFICE.

"ARTHURA. WHITNEY, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

HAT-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 734,642, dated July 28, 1903.

Application filed September 17, 1902. Serial No- 123,706. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR A. WHITNEY,

a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, in the city of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Im- .provements in Hat-Machines, of which the following is a specification. a U

My invontionrelates to improvements'in hat-machines, and particularly in the dies thereof.

While theinvention is adapted to the pressing of any style of hats, it is particularly useful in connection with the manufacture of womens hats with wide brims and bell crowns, such as are now fashionable, and can be employed as well in the manufactureof straw hats as of hats of other materials.

Heretofore there has been no machine known to the trade which will satisfactorily press hatssuch as above mentioned, and it has been necessary either to-shape them by hand or to employ machines in which the upper or female die for shaping the crown is made in a number of separate pieces which chine and another hat-blank put in with practically no change in the dies. c Essentially my invention consists in the combination,with the male die,of a contractible female die and means forcontracting the female die against the male die to shape the hat-crown and forexpanding the female die or allowing it to expand from the male die after a hat-crownis pressed, so as to permit 'of the ready removal of the pressed hat and insertion of another blank. By preference the female die is an elastic spiral band which will itself expand to its original shape and dimensionswhen the operator releases the mechanism by which he has contracted it against the male die.

The preferred form of my invention is with my invention.

My invention,

shown in the accompanying drawings, to-

gether with other parts ofa machine for pressing hats, in order that the construction and operation of the invention may be made clear.

Referring to the said drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation, partly sectioned, of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3 of the dies and certain other parts of a hat-pressing machine which is provided Fig. 3is a sectional plan view on theline 3 30f Fig. 2. Fig. eisasectional view of the partly-finished. hat as shaped by the depressing of the die which forms the brim and corresponding to Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the finished hat and corresponding to Fig. 1.

The under or male die for the bell-crown and the brim is preferably made in two parts, 1 and 2, respectively, which join together with inclined meeting faces 3 and a tongue and a groove, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Said part 1 is preferably made integral with or permanently fixed on the casting 5, which is shaped to give the proper curvature to the hat-brim and is supported on the platform 8, as is usual in machines for pressing hats, being secured thereto by bolt-hooks 7. Thepart 2 is preferably laid loosely in position on said platform 8, so as to permit of the ready removal of the finished hat by rising and sliding to the left as the hat is lifted oi the die. The

inpper die 9 for the brim is of annular form and curved on its under side to correspond withtne curvature of the said casting 5 to form the brim and is approximately concenjtric to said die 1.2 and carried on the lower ends of rods12 13, which depend from a vertically-reciprocating four-armed crosshead 14, which is reciprocated by the rods 15 16,

which rods are vertically guided through sleeves Hand 18 ot' the frame 20 and are connected to the treadle 22 by the link 24, the upper end of which is pivoted to the cross! piece 2l,which connects the lower ends of said rods 15 16. Said cross-head 14 is made adjustable on said rods 15 16 by the sleeves 26 27 and set-screws 28 29. Said treadle 22 is normally raised by the spring 30, which is made adjustable by the thumb-nut 32. The contractible die which forms the crown against the aforesaid die 1 2 is preferably conpermit it to contract and expand from a verperpendicular diameters, said loops 40 being tically-reciprocating plate 38. In the drawings I show the mode of suspension of said spiral 36 as consisting of four radial loops 40, fastened to said spiral at the extremities of long enough to permit of the extreme in and out movements of said spiral 36. Through said loops pass U-shaped wires 42, which are bolted through said plate 38, the openings between the legs of the Us being great enough to permit of the extreme movements of said spiral 36. The said spiral 36 is thus free to move in all directions. To the inner coil of said spiral and relatively near its inner end is pivotally connected'an arm 45, the outer end of which is pivoted on one of the aforesaid rods 12, Figs. 1 and 3. To the outer coil of said spiral 36 and near the extremity thereof is pivoted one end of a link 48, the other end of which is pivoted to a lever 49, which is fulcrumed on said rod 12. Said plate 38, on the under side of which I prefer to place a boss or plate 50 to press the hatcrown down hard on said die 1 2, is reciprocated by the connecting-rod 52, the upper end of which is pivotally connected with the lever 53, which is fulcrumed on the link 55, pivoted on said cross-head 14, 56 being an adjustable slide on upright 57 and fixed by a set-screw in the usual manner for holding down said lever 53. 60 is an annular gasburner, the flames of which play down on said die 9 to heat it in the usual manner, and I also prefer to use a gas-burner (not shown) under casting 5 to heat die 1 2.

The-machine is operated as follows: The flat blank of any fabric of which the hat is to be made and cut to size is put in the machine on the die 1 2, the die 9 and the spiral 36 being in their raised positions and said spiral 36 being expanded to its normal size. Said blank 61 being in position, the operator first depresses treadle 22, thereby forcing die 9 down to shape the brim and bringing the blank to the shape indicated in Fig. 4, but not yet fully depressing plate 38 with its boss 50 and spiral 36. Next the operator, still holding down the treadle 22, presses down lever 53 and at the same time shifts lever 49 from the position of Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 1, thereby causing said spiral 36 to descend to its lower position and contract inwardly, pressing the crown of the hat-blank 61 hard against the die 1 2, and thereby giving the crown the desired shape, while at the same time the boss 50 has pressed the top of the crown. After the hat is pressed for a sufficient time the operator throws lever 49 back to the position of Fig. 3,tl1e spiral 36 springing out to normal size, and also raises lever 53, thereby lifting the plate 38, with its boss 50, and said spiral 36 clear of the hat. Finally he releases the treadle 22, when die 9 rises to its original position. The hat can now be removed from the machine, as the part 2 of the crown-die rises and slides freely on an incline to the left as the hat is lifted from the die.

Now, having described my improvements, I claim as my invention- 1. The combination in a machine for pressing hats, of a die for the inside of the hatcrown, an elastic spiral bank having overlapping ends and adapted to contract and shape the hat-crown against said die and having one of its ends pivotally connected to a stationary part of the machine, and means for moving the other end ofsaid band to contract it against said die, substantially as described.

2. The combination in a machine for pressing hats, of a die for the inside of the hatcrown, an elastic spiral band for shaping the hat-crown against said die, means for raising and lowering said band, and means for contracting it against said die to shape the hat-crown, substantially as described;

3. The combination in a machine for pressing hats, of a die for the inside of the hatcrown, an elastic spiral band for shaping the hat-crown against said die, a pivotal arm connecting one end of said band with a stationary part of the machine, and a lever operatively connected with the other end of said band and adapted to contract the same against said die, substantially as described.

4. The combination in a machine for presswith a plurality of relatively movable parts, a contractible band for shaping the hat-crown against said male (lie, means for raising and lowering said band, and means for contracting said band against said male die, dies for the hat-brim and means for operating the same, substantially as described.

5. The combination in a machine for pressing hats, of the two-part male die 1, 2, the elastic spiral band 36 for shaping the hatcrown against said die, means for raising and lowering said band and suspension devices for said band adapted to allow of the contraction and expansion of said band 36, the pivotal arm 45 connecting one end of said band 36 with a stationary part of the machine, means for moving the other end of the said band to contract the same against the said male die, and a pivotal link connected to said other end of the band with said means, substantially as described.

Signed at New York this 15th day of September, 1902.

ARTHUR A. WHITNEY.

Witnesses:

R. B. VALENTINE, DAVID WALTER BROWN. 

